Jerry Saltz on the controversy surrounding the New Museum's upcoming show of Dakis Joannou's "fabled," incredible" (Saltz's words) collection.
The Art Market Monitor comments here.
Non-profit lawprof Susan Gary says "in my view, the benefits of this show outweigh the conflicts. It sounds like these works of art ... will be of great interest to lovers of modern art." She adds:
"As I read the [New York Times] article, I wondered where the conflict was. Giving the public a chance to view works of art held in a private collection seems like a good idea to me. However, as someone who does not collect art, I had not realized that a museum showing of a private collection will increase the value of those pieces of art. The value of a museum show is of particular importance for modern art, because a show indicates that the pieces are considered 'museum worthy.' So Mr. Joannou's collection will likely increase in value as the result of the show. There is no indication that he plans to sell any of the art anytime soon, but if he does sell some pieces at some point, he may benefit financially from the show."
Or not. As Saltz says, "it is a joke ... to think that Joannou’s collection will increase in value after being shown here. If anything, using three floors of the New Museum will overexpose the art and decrease its value." Put another way, there isn't any doubt that this collection is already "museum worthy."
